Floor-cleaner.



J. E. GEB.

FLOOR CLEANER.

APPLIGATION FILED APR. 5, 1913.

1, 1 1 2,693. Patented 061;. 6, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Flo.

25 5 /4- /5 /2 J 4 ld u" I I l I L.

27 HL l n F j' THE Nome/5 PETERS Co., PHOTO L/THo., WASHING IHN. D cv J. E. GEB.

FLOOR CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED Amm, 191s.

1,1 12,693. Patented 001;. 6, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

THE MORRIS PETERS CO PHOTO-LITHO., WASHINGTU ATENT @FFC JAMES EDWIN GEIE, OF WOOD GREEN, ENGLAND.

FLOOR-CLEANER.

Specification of Letters Fatent.

Patented Oct.-6, 19141.

Application filed Apri15, 1913. Serial No. 759,196.

r o all 107mm t may concern Be it known that I, JAMES EDWIN Gnn, residing at 7 Victoria road, food Green, in the county of Middlesex, England, engineer, have invented a new and useful Improved F loor-Gleaner, oi2 which the following` is a specilication.

This invention relates to apparatus for washing, scrubbing and cleansing floors and the like, and to that class of apparatus in which a long handle or stale is furnished at one end with means for wringing a doiiy cloth or swab, said means being operated by a sleeve or handle mounted to slide along .the stale.

Apparatus of the class above referred to as heretofore constructed have not only been of a complex character and required some strength to wring the cloth or swab, butl have not wrung the ends of the latter.

The object oil the present invention is to simplify the construction of thev apparatus so that it may be easily manipulated by the average maid-servant, and to provide an apparatus which will enable the whole of the cloth or swab to be wrung.

In a cleansing apparatus constructed according to this invention the cloth or swab is attached to a drum which is intermittently rotated in one direction by reciprocating said sleeve or handle on the stale, the-cloth or swab being thereby completely drawn through the wringer which is constituted byv providing a pressure roller opposite to the face of said drum. The swab when free from the pressure roller spreads out upon the ioor when in use, thus enabling the cleansing and mopping of the floor to be rapidly effected. ln combination with the swab there may bea scrubbing brush, piece of hearthstone or squeegee, which is fixed to the frame carrying the wringer.

Apparatus constructed according to the present invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side view showing the swab held in the wringer, and Fig. 2 is a plan view corresponding to Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a side view showing the swab in position for use. Fig. 1l is a sectional view on the lines .fc-:n in Fig. 3 with the swab removed. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the underside of the wringer. f

In carrying out my invention, as illustrated in? the accompanying drawings, I employv a frame or bracket 1 to which is attached a stale or handle 2. This frame is triangular in form on each side, and the two sides ofj the frame are connected together by a cross piece 3 having an eye 4 through which the stale '2 is passed, the end of the latter being received in a socket 5 mounted upon the'outer end. of the trame.

The stale 2 assists to support the frame 1, thus enabling a frame of light structure to be employed. Between the sides of the frame and at the junction of the members 6 and 7 of the frame oneach side is pivotallyjinountedv a drum 8 the face of which is formed' with an opening 9 wherein is mounted a device, such as a spring catch 10, to which the cloth' or swab 11 is attached. At a convenient distance from and parallel with the drum 8 is provided a roller 12 of wood or other suitable material pivotally mounted between the members 7, 7, of the frame in slots 13 and held by a spring or springs 11i' iixed' tov the front end of the frame. The spring yieldingly supports the roller 12 and serves to press the latter' toward the drum 8 with which it forms a wringer for theswab 11.

Adjacent to the pivots of the drum 8, or concentric with said pivots, are pivotally mounted, on each side orp the iframe respectively, levers 15, 15, the short arm of each of which is provided with a` pawl 16 controlled by a spring 17, while the longer arms of said levers are attached by means of connectingrods 18, 1,8, toa sleeve or handle 19 mounted to slide along` the stale 2. The pawls 1G areL capable of engaging with the ends of the drum 8 whichl in the construction illustratedc is provided with three spokes 2O which are slightly bent, as shown in Fig.l 5,q so as to act as ratchets for the fp'aw'lsl; Itwill, however, beobvious that 'instead of providing spokes, the ends oi" the drum may be closed by disks and the latter formed with projections, by stamping portions of the disks, thus providing racks capable of being engaged by the said pawls. The bent spokes or projections are so constructed as to permit the free movement of the pawls 16 in one direction without rotating the drum 8, and to be engaged by said pawls when the latter are moved in this opposite direction to rotate said drum. To prevent backward rotation of the drum o the member (3 on one side of the Jframe is provided with a spring 21 and pawl 22 which serves as a stop.

Beneath the frame 1 and attached to the members Y, 7, on each side thereof is provi ded a stirrup-shaped .member 23 the sides oit which serve as guides for the passage of the swab between the roller 12 and the drum 8.

At the forward end of' the frame 1 is provided an attachment in the form oit a grip, or clamp to receive a scrubbing brush 25, or hearthstone or a squeegee. rllhis clamp may conun'ise a thumb-screw 26 working in one sido ot a bracket 27 and holding the brush or other article against the opposite side thereof; the brush or other article being thus firmly held in position for scrubbingor cleaning the floor.

The operation of the apparatus is as followsz-Assuming the apparatus to be in the condition shown in Fig'. 1 and that it is desired to employ the swab. On pulling the handle 19 along the stale 2 the levers 15 are pulled upward, with the result that the pawls 16 mounted thereon engage one of the spokes at each end of the drum S and rotate the latter a third o3t` a revolution in the direction of the arrow. rlhe ends of the swab are thus drawn through the wringer and the swab now free for use in wiping the floor, which is effected by passing the swab beneath the brush and utilizing the latter to press the vformer upon the floor. To wring the swab the handle 19 is pushed forward and pulled back twice to rotate the drum the remaining two-thirds of the revolution, whereupon the swab is again brought into the position shown in Fig. 1. It will thus be seen that in one complete revolution ot the druin S the whole length of the swab is drawn through the wringer. 1When the sliding handle 19 is moved the second time and the drum 8 rotated two-thirds of a revolution, the swab 11 `is in such a position, as shown in Fig, 3, that the scrubbing brush, or other article may be used alone.

Although I have described an apparatus in which the drum S is rotated in steps of Copies of this patent may be obtained for a third of a revolution, it will be obvious that the intermittent rotation of the drum may be effected in any other number of steps, according to the size of the drum. The primary object of the intermittent ro tation of the drum is to render easier the working of the apparatus and to pass the whole length of the swab through the wringer.

To enable the swab to be readily attached to the drum the spring-catch 10 is in the form of an open ring through which the swab 11 is passed about midway of the length of the latter; the swab being thus doubled upon the drum 8 with its ends together. This spring not only holds the swab securely but is of such a width that when the swab is free from the wringer it spreads out 'upon the floor.

What claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1n a floor cleaner, the combination of a frame, a drum provided with inclined spokes journaled in said frame, a swab carried by said drum, a wringer-roller mounted on said frame and adapted to yieldingly press against said swab, and means tor rotating said drum to draw said swab int-o engagement with the wringenroller comprising' a pair of levers ulcruined on opposite sides of said trame, al headed pawl carried in the rear arm of each of said levers and adapted to cooperate with. the inclined spokes of said drum to rotate the latter in one direction, a pair of screws mounted in the rear arm of each of said levers, one to either side of said pawls, a yspring provided with slotted ends slidably engaging each of said pairs of screws and bearing against the head of each ont said pawls, a sleeve slidably mounted on said handle, and a pair of rods connecting said sleeve and the forward arms of said levers.

In witness whereof l have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES EUWIN GEE.

Witnesses CYRIL Bnn'rr, E. L. H. ELLIOTT.

ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, ID. C. 

